The present invention relates to a device and a method of supplying substances to be dispensed into air or air mixtures. These substances to be dispensed are different scents in particular. Such presentation of scents would preferably be done for visual and/or acoustic stimuli and other events. In addition to scents, with another presentation, this could also be micro quantities of other substances which must be in aerosol form. The substances may also be in gaseous form. When "air" is mentioned below, it may also refer to air mixtures.
The invention thus also relates in particular to a method and a device for increasing the sensorial perception of visual and/or acoustic presentations, especially for decentralized media, e.g., in presenting television movies, video movies, radio broadcasts or musical performances, etc., wherein suitable scents are supplied to the viewers or listeners in synchronization with the presentation of certain visual and/or acoustic events (e.g., motion picture scenes).
Such a method and the respective equipment are described in the present applicant's patent application PCT/EP92/02446, here in particular in the description of FIGS. 16 and 17.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,273,690 discloses an air freshener device which can be used together with an air conditioning system, for example, to improve the air in rooms. This air freshener device has a carrier with multiple scents which are arranged in separate cells or compartments in rows or columns. The carrier comprises walls that can be ruptured for each cell or each compartment and are designed so that scents released can be dispensed in an oncoming stream of air. The carrier can be attached to a supporting structure with fastening elements so that the scents released can be distributed in an entire room by means of a stream of air.
According to this invention, a device for supplying substances to be dispensed into air, especially scents with a flat disk-shaped or plate-shaped base body having multiple separate channels running essentially parallel to its top and/or bottom sides to accommodate substances to be dispensed into air, with each channel having one inlet port and one outlet port, and wherein a stream of gas supplied to the inlet port can flow through the channels, wherein the inlet and outlet ports of at least one channel are sealed gastight until the substance is released and/or the substance is accommodated in a gastight manner in a reservoir in at least one channel that does not release the substance until the time for release of it.
In addition, the invention relates to a device for supplying substances to be dispensed in air, especially scents characterized by
at least one hollow body provided with at least one air exchange port, where a stream of gas can flow through the interior; PA1 at least one reservoir which is arranged in the hollow body for the substance to be released to the ambient air and is enclosed by a carrier material so that the substance can be released by destruction of the carrier material.
Destruction of the carrier material is understood to refer to the fact that the integrity of the carrier material is altered so that the substances to be dispensed are exposed. This can be accomplished by tearing off a part of a laminate, breaking a device and other methods of division.
According to another feature, the present invention relates to a reservoir with scent capsules that is self-activated by automatic detachment of a separation film on influx of air.
Another feature of the invention relates to a micro scent reservoir that can be played in decentralized scent dispensers, with the micro scent reservoirs optionally being designed in the form of a disk.
The device according to this invention for supplying substances to be dispensed into air has the advantages of being very small, handy and easy to package and ship. Additional advantages include the fact that the device can accommodate multiple substances that do not evaporate and cannot become mixed. The substances released can also be activated easily and can be protected well in transport.
The present invention, among other things, provides methods and a device where the various scent supplies (scent sets) belonging to an individual motion picture are fabricated and stored in a manner which ensures both storage of these scents (preferably 20-50 different scents per motion picture) in an extremely small space (compact disk) as well as perfect preservation and rapid, trouble-free shippability at low manufacturing costs.
Another feature of the invention is that a hard material reservoir consisting of easily separated halves is provided for substances that can be dispensed into air, especially scents.
According to another feature of the invention, a flat hard material protection is claimed, that protects stored substances such as scents that are to be dispensed into air from external environmental influences, such as pressure, impact, heat and damage:
Another feature concerns a flat scent reservoir with sealed scents that can be played, where the seals are not removed until immediately before playing.
In general terms, the invention presents a flat preservation system for multiple scent sets, especially a flat or disk-shaped hard material to protect pressure-sensitive and/or light- or heat-sensitive scent sets.
Another feature is a flat, hard material transport reservoir with protective tubes arranged in it to protect pressure-sensitive aromas.
Another feature of the present invention relates to a disk-shaped scent reservoir that is suitable for transport of encapsulated scents in a manner that protects them from pressure, temperature, moisture and light.
Furthermore, a method of releasing substances, especially aromas, to be dispensed into air, where the substances are microencapsulated and embedded in a carrier material which is characterized in that the scent microcapsules embedded in the carrier material can be broken open by the kinetic energy of a gas.
The invention thus creates a micro scent reservoirs system (scent disks) for automatic playing of event-based scent sets in decentralized scent dispensers (scent players), thus permitting a decentralized and yet synchronized scent accompaniment with motion pictures, music and other events.
According to a preferred embodiment of the method according to this invention for minimized storage and decentralized synchronized presentation of scents with visual and/or acoustic stimuli, the micro scent reservoirs equipped with the required aromas are manufactured in the form of very flat compact disks 1, such as those known for music CDs, for example.
This very small and flat embodiment of the scent carrier has the fundamental advantage that despite the relatively large scent contact areas, it nevertheless takes up very little space and thus permits mass distribution of the scent sets belonging to a certain motion picture to a large public.
Thus it is possible with scent set carriers of this form and type to glue them as inserts into a daily newspaper or television schedule or a product such as a package of coffee, etc. In this way, all the scents (scent sets) belonging with a television movie can be available to all interested viewers at the time of the broadcast without each individual television viewer having to purchase a scent CD for a motion picture he would like to see in the scented version.
By means of rapid, decentralized distribution of scent sets formulated precisely for a given motion picture and perfectly protected, and then added as an insert to a daily newspaper or television schedule or a postal mailing in the form of a flat scent compact disk, it is feasible for the scents (scent sets) belonging to a television movie or other media event to be in a perfectly preserved form at the time when they are dispersed to all interested viewers, without each individual television viewer having to go into a shop to purchase a new appropriate scent set for a motion picture that viewer would like to see in the scented version.
This permits for the first time rapid distribution, long-term storage and finally decentralized, synchronized playing of many different scent sets that fit precisely with a motion picture for a mass public to be distributed in a decentralized manner.
Here for the first time, a technique by which the carrier substance (e.g., air) automatically opens the sealed and preserved aroma out of the sealed state, gradually dissolves it and entrains it.
Thus with this technique, the aromas remain hermetically sealed off from air until the immediate time of presentation, so that premature aging processes are reliably prevented despite the fact that the substances are accommodated in an extremely small space.
Another application of these disks could also be in medical technology for administration of very small controlled doses of medication.
In contrast with computer diskettes and music CDs, which are flat binary information carriers, storage and distribution of scents is linked to the physical form of the scents.
The different supplies of micro scents are preferably applied to the inside of one of the two halves of such a disk in the form of a certain type of scent tracks (scent track arrangement).
Such scent track arrangements may also be stored in multiple layers one above the other in such a disk, because the individual layers are extremely thin and thus take up very little space. The individual tracks of such a scent track arrangement are partitioned off from one another by certain patterns of separating cuts. These separating cuts can be pressed as patterns into the respective half of the disk, or finally, they may be in the form indentations and elevations on the counterpart of the other half of the disk, where the individual tracks giving off the scent are ultimately formed by the manufacturing process, while the disk halves are joined in a certain manner.
To prevent mixing of the individual scents and aromas from the scent tracks during storage of the disk, these tracks are preferably designed in such a way that small, individually separated protective channels are formed in production of the disk and demarcate the individual scent tracks from one another.
Within the separate scent channels, the scents are preferably sealed once again in scent carrying slotted channels to protect them from the action of oxidation processes in addition to outside scents.
A third sealing of the scents can also be achieved by encapsulation, by sealing the scents another time in very small microcapsules inside the scent carrying slotted channels, so that the microcapsules rupture simultaneously with the opening of the slotted channels.
The diameter of the separating channels and the elevation due to the second sealing of the scents are preferably designed so that the total thickness of the scent CD is only on the order of that of commercial music CDs and CD ROMs, or at least it is so slightly greater that these scent CDs can still be glued to a newspaper as an insert with no problem.
If a motion picture is to be played back over TV or a video player, the signals assigned to a scent can be played through the respective television transmitter or over the storage medium together with the video and audio signals of the motion picture, as already described in the present patent applicant's patent PCT/EP92/02446 (FIGS. 16 and 17).
These signals act directly or indirectly on a playback apparatus, the so-called scent player, into which the scent disks described above are placed before starting the motion picture.
If one of these scent tracks is activated by a scent signal, a carrier medium, which may be air or a certain air mixture, is driven by a small pump and pumped into the respective scent channel on the scent disk through a micro filling connection. Certain very thin scent carrying layers are then activated within the scent channel by the pressure provided by the carrier medium.
The signals for triggering the scents may also influence additional features of a scented motion picture presentation, such as the quantity of air flowing through a scent carrier, the temperature of the scent-air mixture dispensed, the length of the scent interval, optionally any intended mixing of scents due to their simultaneous activation or overlaying one scent over another.
If, in a modification of the intended equipment, the intent is to also present theater, music or motion picture presentations accompanied by scents in public theaters, etc., the invention also makes it easy to minimize the cost of renovating such buildings (as described in PCT/EP92/02446) by omitting the scent line installations normally required for this purpose. Instead of the central scent playing device and the complete line system, a small playback apparatus is mounted at any desired location. This is important in particular when there are plans to accompany only certain presentations with scents over a limited period of time, when then would not justify the cost of a complete renovation of the theater under some circumstances. This device can also permit scents to accompany open air presentations.
With the creation of a novel multiple-scent reservoir system that can be played back automatically and can easily be distributed through mass media such as newspapers due to extensive miniaturization, the invention also makes it possible to use this system for any desired decentralized application.
In addition to using this system for motion pictures, it is thus also possible to use this system for other media, such as advertising, or for automatic food and beverage dispensers, computer games or on-line purchasing accompanied by scents, music CDs, product information units (e.g., information computer at the point of sale) and any type of presentation that can be enhanced by the addition of scents either centrally or from decentralized sites.
Like the other decentralized applications already mentioned, the recently available data helmets, VR helmets and equipment for experiencing virtual reality, cyberspace adventures, etc. also offer a possibility for using these rapidly dispersable and optimally preserved micro scents.